Two piece garage door



K. H. BURGIN TWO PIECE GARAGE DOOR July 7, 1959 2,893,482

Filed Oct. 29, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 INVENTOR- zseM/r/d 3026/ M/am y 7, 1959 K. H. BURGIN 2,893,482

TWO PIECE GARAGE DOOR Filed Oct. 29, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR AfseM/r A Bazaar BY- i E 2,893,482 TWO PIECE GARAGE DOOR Kermit H. Burgin, Whitestown, Ind. Application October 29, 1957, Serial No. 693,058 4 Claims. (Cl. 160-191) This invention relates to a garage door of that type wherein there is an upper door section hinged by its upper horizontal edge portion to framing structure at the sides of the door, and there is a lower door section hinged to the lower edge of the upper section. A track is pro- .vided along the door side frame structure wherein a guide roller on each side edge of the lower door section may travel soas to guide the lower section as the two sections are lifted and hinged between their respective lower and top edges into a full opened position. The invention involves a leverage system spring controlled for making the opening and closing of the door a relatively easy operation, devoid of any complicated construction, without portions extending to .any great extent into usable space behind .the door or thereabove. The invention is primarily intended to be employed on light weight doors such for example as aluminum doorswherein each of the two ,do'or sections would weigh, for example around thirty pounds, or sixty pounds for the entire door. The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention'will become apparent to those versed in the are in the following description in one particular form of the invention which is made in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a view in inside elevation of a structure embodying the invention;

' 'Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1; j I

Fig. 3 is a detail in section on an enlarged scale on the line 3-3 in Fig; 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail in vertical section on the line 4-4 p in Fig. 1;" a a Fig. 5 is a view in detail on the line 5-5 in Fig. l; and

Fig. 6 is a view in detail on the line 6-6 in Fig. 1.

The invention is applied to a door having an upper section 10 and a lower section 11 preferably made out of aluminum as above indicated so as to have the minimum weight, the two sections 10 and 11 being hinged together between their respective lower and upper edges by a hinge structure 12 on the forward side of the door. This hinge structure may be in the nature of a piano hinge extending entirely across the door, or as is illustrated herein, may be in its simplest form a pair of hinges 12a and 12b.

Door jambs 13 and 14 at opposite vertical edges of the door sections 10 and 11 carry respectively the vertically disposed tracks 15 and 16. These tracks 15 and 16 are preferably C-shape in cross-section and receive therein the rollers 17 and 18 respectively which are carried by brackets 9 at opposite lower end corners of the door section 11. The upper door section 10 has no guide means interconnecting with the tracks 15 and 16. The upper section 10 is however hinged at its upper outer corners by any suitable means, herein shown as by pins 19 and 20 supported rockably by the door jambs 13 and 14. Thus the upper door section 10 swings about the pins 19 and 20 and the lower section 11 swings in turn about the h 2,893,482 Ce Patented July 7, 1959 hinges 12a and 12b with a lower edge 21 of the door section 11 restrained to substantially vertical travel without swinging laterally from the door jambs 13 and 14, since it is confined to vertical travel by the engagement of the rollers 17 and 18 within the tracks 15 and 16.

Each of the door jambs 13 and 14 carries a bracket 22 through which a rod 23 slidedly extends in spaced relation inwardly from the door jambs. This rod 23 extends upwardly through a surrounding coil spring 24 and a tensioning nut 25 screw-threadedly carried on the rod, and on up to be rockably carried by a bracket 26in turn fixed to the inside of the upper door section 10 toward its upper portion. The spring 24 bears against the topside of the bracket 22 and the adjustable nut 25.

A pair of brackets 27 is fixed, one toward each upper outer corner of the lower door section 11 to extend across the line 28 between the upper and lower sections 10 and 11. Each bracket 27 may assume any desired shape, as herein shown as extending in a straight manner from its attachment to the door 11 in each instance across and up along the inner side of the door section 10. The bracket 27 in each instance has a rod 29 pivoted to it's normally upper free end, which rod extends through an adjusting nut 30 screw-threadedly carried thereon; a surrounding coil spring 3'1; and through a bracket 32 which is mounted on the upper outer corner portion of the door section 10, herein shown as being above the brackets26. With the door sections 10 and 11 in their closed vertically disposed positions, Figs. 1 and 2, the spring 24 and its rod 23 will be inclined downwardly away from the door by reason of its passing through the bracket 22 in each instance at spaced distances from the door jambs to so locate those parts. In this inclined position, the spring 24 will tend to urge and hold the upper door section in its' closed position. Likewise spring 31 will be inclined upwardly away from the door to bear between its adjusting nut 30 and an outermost portion of the bracket 32 so as to force the free end of the bracket 27 in each instance toward the upper door section 10 thereby tending to rock the lower door section 11 into the common vertically disposed plane with the upper section 10.

In operation, assuming that the door sections are in their closed positions, and the latching arrangement as illustrated in Fig. 1 is in the latched position wherein the slide bars 34 and 35 are in the usual and well known manner rocked to have their outer ends each received in a recess or socket 36 in the door jambs or on the door jambs, these bars 34 and 35 are initially released from those sockets 36 by rocking the handle 37 from the inside or the handle 38 from the outside, and then the door is either pulled or pushed at its central portion either immediately above or below the line 28 so as to kick those sections inwardly tending to cause the lower rollers 17 and 18 to also travel inwardly from lower recesses 39 provided in the tracks 15 and 16, and upon further inward rocking of the sections 10 and 11, the rollers 17 and 18 will tend to be pulled upwardly in those tracks 15 and 16 and finally when the door sections are thus moved inwardly sufficiently, the springs 24 and 31 will travel past vertically disposed positions to reverse angles of inclination to eventually come into the respective dash line positions indicated in Fig. 2 whereupon the door section 10 will be substantially horizontally disposed and the lower door section 11 will be suspended by its normally upper edge from the corresponding lower edge of the upper section 10 to incline downwardly somewhat and have the rollers 17 and 18 drop into a recess 40 provided toward the upper end of each of the tracks 15 and 16 as a means for preventing the door sections from accidentally dropping downwardly.

'In the upper dash line positions, the spring 31 while is also aiding in holding the door section in the upper position thus affording two spring supports although each spring is in a somewhat extended position.

The door sections may be lowered by taking the rollers 17 and 18 out of their upper recesses 40 and pulling downwardly on the door section 11 to bring the springs 24 and 31 again under their fuller compressions and finally rock them past their vertically disposed positions into their inclined positions shown in solid lines.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the one particular form in minute detail, it is obvious that various forms of brackets may be employed with somewhat difierent spacings apart thereof all without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond the limitations which may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An upper and lower section door construction for opening and closing a space between horizontally spaced apart jambs wherein said upper section by an upper end is rockably interconnected with said jambs at the upper end of said space and said lower section is hingedly interconnected by an upper edge with a lower edge of said vupper section, both sections swinging upwardly to a folded overhead position for opening the space and swinging downwardly into substantially a vertical plane for closing the space, in combination with a leverage system for assisting said door opening and closing, said system comprising a pair of spaced apart rods each by an upper end being rockably carried by an upper end portion of said upper door section; a pair of spaced apart brackets fixed respectively one to each of said jambs a spaced distance below the upper end of each rod, said brackets slidingly guiding and retaining said rods; a tensioning member carried by each of said rods adjacent the said rod upper end; a coil spring surrounding each of said rods compressibly bearing between said members and said brackets; a second pair of spaced apart rods each by a lower end being rockably carried by an upper end portion of said lower door section; a second pair of spaced apart brackets each fixed to said upper end portion of said upper door section at a spaced distance above the lower ends of the respective second pair of rods, said second brackets slidingly guiding and retaining said second rods; a tensioning member carried by each of said second rods adjacent the said second rods lower ends; a

coil spring surrounding each of said second rods compressibly bearing between said tensioning members and said second brackets; and means interengaging opposite sides adjacent the lower end of said lower door section with said jambs confining complete upward and downward travel of that end to within approximately said vertical plane.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which all of said brackets, rods, and springs are located on that side of said door sections from which said sections swing normally urging said door sections into said vertical plane for closing the space, and in turn, normally yieldingly urging said door sections to saidfolded overhead position for opening the space; said brackets positioning in the door closing condition the first pair of said rods in a downwardly and inwardly inclined direction from said vertical plane in substantial parallelism, and positioning the second pair of said rods in an upwardly and inwardly inclined direction from said vertical plane in substantial parallelism; said tensioning members adjustably positioned along said rods to selectively control active spring tension within said leverage system. 7

3. The structure of claim 1 in which a third pair of brackets is fixed each by. one end to said lower door upper end portion and by an opposite free end extends a spaced distance above said lower door upper edge to rockably carry the lower ends of said second pair of rods; said third brackets tending to rock and retain the lower door section within said vertical plane under force of said springs carried by said second pair. of rods.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which said door lower end and jamb interengaging means comprises a track carried by each jamb and a member carried by the door lower end shiftably retained in said track in each instance; said track extending vertically along each jamb from said door lower end adjacent said space upper end; said door sections swinging one toward the other through their said interhinging upon opening travel removing the adjacent edges of the two door sections from said plane while the upper door section swings on its said rockable innerconnection at the upper end of said space, and said door lower end track retained member constrains the lower end of the lower door section to vertical travel substantially within said plane, entirely along said space.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,244,182 Allen June 3, 1941 2,573,181 Burr Oct. 30, 1951 2,722,273 Taylor Nov. 1, 1955 

